SMARInsights 1
Consolidated Research Report
2021-2022
SMARInsights
Background
•Pismo Beach engaged SMARInsights to complete a series of research projects during 2021 and early 2022.
•The first study was spearheaded by Visit SLO CAL with opportunities for partner communities to participate by adding questions to a Visitor Profile and EDI Study (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion).
•A second study done by Pismo Beach CVB used mobile location data to analyze where visitors spent their time while in Pismo Beach, as well as looking at Day-trippers vs Overnight stays to Pismo Beach —March 2019 visitation compared to July 2020 and July 2021 . •The third study profiled 2019 visitors and assessed market potential within a competitive set of destinations. This study analyzed origin markets by season and week part and an online survey that addressed trip characteristics for visitors, and reactions to imagery for potential visitors. Video interviews supplemented the findings.
2 SMARInsights
Co-Op: Visitor Profile & EDI
•One -third of the California residents surveyed reported visiting one or more areas/attractions of Pismo Beach/Shell Beach in the past two years. Past visitation was 13% among respondents in the Fly markets.
•The destination received high ratings for its visitor
experience.
•Pismo Beach/Shell Beach has relatively high levels of
awareness among diverse travelers, especially in California markets.
•The attributes of the destination are appealing for all the traveler segments.
3 Goals
A primary
interest was
assessing
perceptions of
Pismo Beach –
especially among
diverse
audiences –and
identifying any
barriers to
visitation.
SMARInsights
Attendee Origin Analysis
•Overnight visitors represented about half of the people downtown. •During peak season, 9-in-10 visitors originated from California markets. Fresno is generating the largest share of overnight visitors (35%) and daytrips (24%).
—Fresno, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Santa Barbara County ADI (including Santa Maria ) and Sacramento account for 90% of peak season overnight visitors and 79% of daytrips. —The largest share of Day-trippers come from within San Luis Obispo County, Santa Maria, and Bakersfield.
—Fresno is contributing a larger share of low-end hotel stays (39%) than high-end stays (27%) and is the number one market across all trip types (daytrips, overnight) and every hotel scale category. —San Francisco and Southern California visitors represented a larger share of high-end hotel guests than budget stayers. 4 Goals
The goal of this
research was to
determine where
Day -trippers
come from and
the mix of people
in the Pismo
Beach downtown
during the
various times of
the year
SMARInsights
Markets by Season Weekday
Report Title 5
SMARInsights
Trip Type and Trip Length by
Day of Week
Report Title 6
SMARInsights
Market Analysis
& Visitor Profile
•Fresno and Los Angeles contribute the largest share
of visitors during every season.
—Fresno and Bakersfield contribute the largest
share of weekend visitors.
•Pismo Beach is the main destination for 52% of
visitors and is a base camp for 22%.
•Pismo Beach visitors have an average income of
$131,900 –
•On average, visitors spent $1,724 per trip.
•Most all Day-trippers and overnight guest arrived by
car
•Nine -in-10 visitors rated the trip experience to Pismo Beach as “very good” or “excellent”.
•The destination ratings for being “clean and well
maintained” included very few negative ratings. There
were no negatives regarding infrastructure, the only
suggestion of improvement was more things to do in
Pismo Beach.
7 Goals
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the
origin markets of Day Trip and Overnight
visitors
Profile past visitors
Demographics | Trip characteristics
Motivations | Satisfaction
Compare Pismo Beach and competitive set
Ratings | Likelihood to visit
Get feedback on images/advertising to
identify groups who respond best to Pismo
Beach messaging
Identify the origin markets and demographic
groups with the highest potential for future
overnight visitation
SMARInsights
Market Analysis
& Visitor Profile, cont.
•Pismo Beach’s brand position as a “classic beach town” is aligned with motivators and had a high degree of awareness. Pismo Beach ranked very high in all the study markets for fun, family-friendly, relaxing, small-town feel and open spaces.
•Pismo Beach is seen as a relaxing, beautiful and fun beach destination.
Monterey and Santa Barbara are its closest competitors in terms of image and appeal. These destinations are differentiated by luxury and expensive, while Pismo Beach is differentiated as a family-friendly, affordable place with a small- town feel.
•Los Angeles travelers rate Pismo Beach higher than any other market. 8 SMARInsights
Origin Markets: Hotel Stays
9 Hotel Stays July 2021
Fresno 30%
Los Angeles 17%
Bakersfield 12%
San Francisco 11%
Sacramento 8%
Santa Barbara 5%
Palm Springs 3%
San Diego 2%
Phoenix 2%
Las Vegas 1%
90% of hotel visitors
in July 2021 were
from California
markets.
SMARInsights
Who’s Visiting
•Visitors to Pismo Beach are more likely to
be older, have a slightly higher income,
and are less diverse than visitors to
competitor destinations.
•Visitors from Fresno and Bakersfield are
more likely to have children, less likely to
have a college degree and more likely to
be Hispanic. They have lower income than
visitors from other markets.
10 83% Married
47% Kids at Home
$131K Avg.
Household Income
81% College Grad+
81% White | 5% Black
9% Hispanic | 9% Asian
49 Years Old
See Appendix for demographic profiles.
SMARInsights
Arrivalist
Cross-Visitation Analysis &
Findings
Visit SLOCAL Retreat 2022
SMARInsightsFOOTER 12
Top Destinations (1/1/21–1/31/22)
Source: Arrivalist
SMARInsightsFOOTER 13
Trips By POI (1/1/21–1/31/22)
Source: Arrivalist
SMARInsights 14
Destination Motivation
•Activities that appeal to a
smaller audience (i.e.,
attending an event/festival
versus going to the beach)
but have strong motivation
are good opportunities for
marketing messages
SMARInsights
Trip Highlights
•Many visitors indicated
that the part of the trip
that they most enjoyed
was the beach, spending
time with family, relaxing
and dining.
What People Enjoyed
15 SMARInsights
Video Reaction
Potential Visitors
16 Agree Strongly
Agree Mean
Offers enjoyable
activities 35%49%4.17
Has stunning natural
beauty 43%48%4.37
I would like to visit 43%33%4.03
Has a lot to see and do 49%32%4.09
Where I can
disconnect from the
stresses of everyday
life
49%33%4.10
The video “My Pismo Beach” received
favorable ratings –especially for showing that
Pismo Beach has stunning natural beauty and
offers enjoyable activities.
Having a lot to see and do is highly correlated
with interest in visiting.
SMARInsights
Conclusions And
Recommendations
•Pismo Beach enjoys high levels of visitor satisfaction and strong brand awareness •The brand is on target with what differentiates the destination from its competition and motivates travel
•Increased marketing efforts should be continued to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara/San Fernando Valley as these markets have high levels of awareness, strong destination ratings, and favorable potential for high quality overnight visitation.
•New additional marketing and budgeting to the fly markets of Portland and Seattle should be targeted with new marketing to attract more high end guests that will stay multiple nights.
•Additional new marketing to Sacramento which represents a newer target market with the goal to get more overnight guests and less Day-trippers, due to the distance in travel. This market also shows potential due to it’s favorable rating of those who do already traveled here and those thinking of doing so in the future. 17 SMARInsights
Conclusions And
Recommendations Continued
•Develop a “Stay Vacation” campaign targeting Northern Santa Barbara County, (Santa Maria) and San Luis Obispo county by offering lodging specials in the off season to motivate Day- trippers to stay for the night. Emphasize the higher gas prices and reasons to vacation close to home and do it in Pismo Beach. Do the same in the Fresno/Bakersfield market by targeting higher end income levels and encouraging those to stay longer rather than drive back in one day with special lodging discounts in the off season and mid-week. This will also help provide our residents with a much better experience downtown without adding more crowds from Day-Trippers.
•Continue to not market or advertise to Day-trippers, but rather continue to seek high quality overnight stays and longer-term vacations. Turn the gas situation into a positive for future Pismo Beach tourism. The messaging is staying close to home and vacationing overnight in Pismo Beach rather than driving further distances or flying. 18 SMARInsights
•On March 16, 2022, the CVB/LBID Advisory Board requested TJA to suggest new budget and media allocations utilizing $350,000 of the accumulated LBID Fund available fund balance for marketing.
Report Title 19
SMARInsights
•The Board also requested ideas on how the CVB General Fund $110,900 available budget that was reduced from the TJA Advertising agreement should be spent.
Report Title 20